Chapter 471: Do You Dare?

Bang bang bang bang!

With his cultivation sealed, the old man couldn't withstand Zhang Xuan's blows and was beaten until his face looked like a pig's head.

"I'll kill you..."

Having brought the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man to cure his ailment, only to end up beaten like this, the old man could no longer hold back. His teeth ground together with a "click-clack" sound, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

"Kill me? Weren't you trying to use my hand to kill him? Why do you want to kill me now?"

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, looking over with a relaxed expression.

"What are you talking about? I... I don't know!"

Hearing this, the old man showed a hint of panic, quickly concealed.

"Don't know? You came to seize someone else's body and even wanted to annihilate their soul... and you tell me you don't know?"

Zhang Xuan's lips curled up.

"Seizing?"

Jin Conghai, Sai Guozhu, and the others were all startled, looking at the old man with heightened vigilance.

Seizing was a special technique of soul shamans, also called borrowing a body to return the soul. As the name implied, a soul shaman whose lifespan had expired would forcibly suppress or kill another person's soul and use that person's body to live again.

It was mysterious and unfathomably strange.

"Don't worry, he hasn't fully succeeded yet!" Seeing everyone's reaction, Zhang Xuan smiled. "If he had, it would be an evil spirit possession, and I really wouldn't be able to handle it."

Earlier, he had said he couldn't handle evil spirit possession, leaving everyone confused. It turned out this fellow wasn't possessed by an evil spirit but was being seized.

"You... don't talk nonsense. I am myself. I'm possessed by an evil spirit and can't be cured..." The old man gritted his teeth.

"You're possessed?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head, walked around the old man again with his hands behind his back. "I don't know exactly what method you used to suppress the other's soul, but I can still see the situation clearly."

"Coming to the auction to sell the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man without stating what you wanted, making everyone guess... If I'm not mistaken, at that time it was still his soul in control. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but you suppressed him, preventing him from saying it."

"Under everyone's interrogation, he became emotional, and you seized the opportunity to take over his body... Then you said whoever bought the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man would be taken to find the soul shaman's tomb. If I'm not mistaken, you wanted to lure people there, set a trap, and kill more experts!"

Zhang Xuan snorted. "Otherwise, having been possessed by an evil spirit while excavating the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man and being near death, how could you want to go a second time? Are you addicted to suffering or seeking death?"

"This..."

Jin Conghai and Sai Guozhu were both shaken.

Earlier, when the old man was on the auction stage and pressed hard by everyone, he indeed seemed about to say something, but then his body swayed, and he never spoke again, immediately saying this instead.

Thinking about it now, it was indeed strange.

Having obtained the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man from the soul shaman's tomb but also being seized by a soul and nearing death, why would he want to go back to such a dangerous place?

It was clearly a huge flaw.

Unfortunately, they too had been dazzled by the soul shaman's legacy and treasures, failing to notice this.

"I just wanted to raise the price..."

The old man said.

"Raise the price? Fine!"

Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly. "Senior Jin, Guild Leader Sai, please trouble yourselves to undo the seal on him!"

"Undo the seal?"

The two were taken aback.

Although the beating just now was fierce, it was only superficial, not harming the core. Once the seal was undone and his strength returned to the peak of Mortal Deity Two, he would certainly be unbeatable.

"Don't worry!" Knowing their concerns, Zhang Xuan gave them a reassuring look.

"Alright!"

Knowing that this young man, though young, never acted without certainty, the two simultaneously reached out with their hands.

Whoosh!

The force suppressing the old man vanished, and his aura recovered.

"Hmph, I see you can't exorcise the evil spirit either. In that case, farewell!"

With the seal undone, the old man sighed in relief and turned to leave.

Before he could take two steps, he saw the young man blocking his way.

"What? With your strength, you think you can stop me?" He sneered.

Though he couldn't discern the young man's exact strength, the fact that he had others act earlier suggested his strength was inferior to his own.

"Then try it!" Without further ado, Zhang Xuan lifted his foot and kicked again.

"Hmph!"

The old man's face darkened, and he suddenly grabbed forward with his hand.

But he caught nothing, and instead felt a pain in his chest.

Bang!

He was sent flying again, crashing heavily to the ground.

"You..."

The old man's pupils contracted.

"Surprised?" Zhang Xuan flickered and appeared before him again, flipping his palm down.

Slap!

His face reddened with five more slap marks, and the old man fell to the ground.

"This..."

Everyone exchanged glances.

"A peak Mortal Deity Two can't withstand a half-step Mortal Deity? What's going on?"

"I don't get it either..."

This old man was clearly at peak Mortal Deity Two, and his power was fierce when sealed. How did he suddenly become so weak, beaten by a half-step Mortal Deity without any resistance?

Even if this Master Zhang could fight above his level, facing a Mortal Deity One was already difficult. Beating a peak Mortal Deity Two without letting him fight back was impossible.

"Has Teacher's strength increased again?"

Unlike their shock, Zhao Ya and the others were thrilled.

Teacher breaking through as easily as drinking water had become a habit for them. Seeing a peak Mortal Deity Two beaten to a pulp, they assumed Zhang Xuan had broken through.

"No, it's... the old man's strength has weakened! His current combat power is at most early Mortal Deity One!" Zhao Feiwu said.

Limited by her body, she hadn't cultivated much, but she was well-traveled and had good insight.

"Yes, the young master is right. His current strength is at most early Mortal Deity One, but... his cultivation is genuinely peak Mortal Deity Two. The specific reason... I don't understand either!"

Jin Conghai said.

"Peak Mortal Deity Two cultivation but only early Mortal Deity One strength... this..."

Hearing their confirmation, Zhao Ya and the others were also baffled.

Luo Qin was even more confused.

"Hear that? Not only I, but others have noticed too. What do you have to say now?"

Zhang Xuan stopped his attack and looked smilingly at the old man, who had been beaten again.

"I... I'm injured and can't use my full strength..."

The old man gritted his teeth.

"Even if injured, it's impossible for you to be unable to use strength nearly two major levels below!" Zhang Xuan said, as if expecting this excuse.

"Master Zhang, what exactly is going on?"

Seeing the man at a loss for words with more and more flaws, Sai Guozhu couldn't hold back.

"It's simple. The seizing soul and the seized person have mismatched strength! If I'm not mistaken, the seized person was at peak Mortal Deity Two, while the seizing soul is only early Mortal Deity One!"

Zhang Xuan said. "Although it has taken over the body, it hasn't adapted. Especially after I beat it just now, the body and soul are hard to harmonize. Even if it can control the body without showing flaws, it can't mobilize true energy, hence its weakness!"

When he first saw the old man on the auction stage, his Eye of Insight had noticed many flaws, raising his suspicion.

Normally, with his current cultivation, he could only see through Mortal Deity One, but... he could see problems in a Mortal Deity Two peak. Thinking back, it was because of the fusion with this early Mortal Deity One soul.

Seizing has poor integration with the body. When the body is beaten, it naturally leans toward its original soul and distances itself from the seizing soul... This results in him having peak Mortal Deity Two strength but being unable to use it.

"You, you..."

The old man's face turned pale.

Everything before could be explained, but this struck the core. Even if he wanted to explain, he couldn't.

After all, the beating was just superficial, negligible for a peak Mortal Deity Two expert.

"No need for 'you' or 'I'. Earlier, I deliberately called it evil spirit possession instead of seizing to ease your guard. You thought it was an opportunity and wanted to use my hand to kill the competing soul. Am I wrong?"

Zhang Xuan continued.

Although the other had succeeded in seizing, it hadn't killed the original soul, and that soul was still trying to take control.

Otherwise, why would it come here to auction the Soul-Imprisoning Golden Man and seek a method to suppress it?

The idea was good, and anyone else might have fallen for it, killing the original soul and helping the seizing one. Unfortunately, it met Zhang Xuan.

Under the Heavenly Way, nothing could hide. Even if it turned into a wisp of smoke, it couldn't escape his eyes.

"You... Since you've seen through it all, I won't pretend anymore. Yes, I seized this fellow!"

Seeing no way to hide, the old man stood up, snorted, and stopped denying.

"So it's true?"

"An early Mortal Deity One soul seizing a peak Mortal Deity Two body..."

Hearing his admission, everyone turned pale with fear.

Early Mortal Deity One and peak Mortal Deity Two differ by nearly two major levels, a chasm in combat power. Yet this soul succeeded in seizing...

How was that possible?

Too terrifying!

"Good that you admit it. Actually, I was just guessing earlier. If you hadn't admitted, I'd have thought I was wrong..." Zhang Xuan said.

He was telling the truth.

The Library of Heaven's Path could only show flaws, not analyze or provide answers.

He had pieced together the hypothesis from many flaws and his own knowledge, never expecting to hit the mark.

"You..."

His face reddened, and the old man nearly spat blood.

If only he'd known it was just a guess, he would never have admitted it...

Now that he had, even if he wanted to deny it, he couldn't...

"Don't be smug!"

His eyes narrowed, pushing aside his frustration, the old man sneered. "My soul is now dominant, and I am the body's master. Even if you know I'm a seizer, what use is it? Can you kill me..."

"Do you dare?"